Today I met my dad at the Cherry Ridge Airport just outside of Honesdale, PA. His friend, Lee, was expected to be flying in from Conway, NH, with his 1965 Cessna Skylane. My dad and I went for a walk and talked about the bus trip he took back when he first visited the United States.
Around 1:30pm, I heard a plane in the sky and we saw Lee coming towards us on the horizon. He circled over us and then came in for a landing on the runway. He made is way over to park, climbed out of the plane, and gave me a big hug. I haven't seen Lee in a number of years, so he was looking forward to catching up on what I've been doing with my life.
But before catching up, he asked me if I wanted to go on a little flight in his plane. I of course was all for it because it's not everyday that you can go up in a Cessna. To my surprise and great excitement, Lee told my dad to sit in the back because he wanted me to fly us around the countryside! Once we got our headsets all functioning, Lee turned on the plane and we began taxi to the end of the runway. He had me use the foot pedals to steer us down to the end of the runway. We then came to a stop to boost the throttle to ensure the engine worked and go through the pre-flight checklist. Lee put me in charge of the radio so before take-off, I had to say, "Honesdale. Skylane 8433 Sierra. Takeoff on runway 36. Honesdale." After I finished announcing that, Lee throttled us down the runway and took off in the direction of Honesdale. As we made our way over my former high school and the thriving metropolis of Honesdale, Lee instructed me on how to steer, increase altitude, and decrease altitude. He then decided that I should be in charge of our flight at that point, so I found 191 north on the ground and followed that until I recognized houses on the horizon and headed towards Galilee. I flew over my parents house at 2500 feet and then headed towards Callicoon, NY. Once I got to the Delaware River, I banked right in order to circle back over to Galilee before making my way back to the airport. Lee allowed me to attempt to line the plane up with the runway before coming in for a landing. Once we were within a half mile of the airport, Lee took over the controls again so that we could make a safe and smooth landing. It was definitely an experience I won't soon forget!
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| My parents house in Galilee, PA, from 2500 feet |
Around 1:30pm, I heard a plane in the sky and we saw Lee coming towards us on the horizon. He circled over us and then came in for a landing on the runway. He made is way over to park, climbed out of the plane, and gave me a big hug. I haven't seen Lee in a number of years, so he was looking forward to catching up on what I've been doing with my life.
But before catching up, he asked me if I wanted to go on a little flight in his plane. I of course was all for it because it's not everyday that you can go up in a Cessna. To my surprise and great excitement, Lee told my dad to sit in the back because he wanted me to fly us around the countryside! Once we got our headsets all functioning, Lee turned on the plane and we began taxi to the end of the runway. He had me use the foot pedals to steer us down to the end of the runway. We then came to a stop to boost the throttle to ensure the engine worked and go through the pre-flight checklist. Lee put me in charge of the radio so before take-off, I had to say, "Honesdale. Skylane 8433 Sierra. Takeoff on runway 36. Honesdale." After I finished announcing that, Lee throttled us down the runway and took off in the direction of Honesdale. As we made our way over my former high school and the thriving metropolis of Honesdale, Lee instructed me on how to steer, increase altitude, and decrease altitude. He then decided that I should be in charge of our flight at that point, so I found 191 north on the ground and followed that until I recognized houses on the horizon and headed towards Galilee. I flew over my parents house at 2500 feet and then headed towards Callicoon, NY. Once I got to the Delaware River, I banked right in order to circle back over to Galilee before making my way back to the airport. Lee allowed me to attempt to line the plane up with the runway before coming in for a landing. Once we were within a half mile of the airport, Lee took over the controls again so that we could make a safe and smooth landing. It was definitely an experience I won't soon forget!
very cool. I used to do some flying in a cessna 172 when I was younger. Never quite got my license, but I loved flying in small planes. Bet it was a great time.
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